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Future of the Forum

lionking said:
I might give it a crack. I'm less than impressed with Talk Rational, still less with Skeptical Community. I feel dirty even thinking of the latter.
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C'mon TalkRats are some internet bad guys they say all the things mommy wouldn't let them say and HURR DURR DURR anyone who doesn't like it.
 
godless dave said:
That would have been where we started if they had actually said so in the first place.

Like I said, I understand that line of thinking, but why keep it secret? Why not just come out and say it? Why did I only learn about it from a post you, Jeff, made on page 25 of this thread?
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Sometimes you say little when negotiations are happening to prevent getting in the way of those negotiations...
 
Planigale said:
Could we apply to JREF for a grant to support the forum as an educational resource for skepticism?
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They've already decided that a pool of 30,000 skeptics with a core of 2000 regulars is detrimental to their type of skepticism.
 
OnlyTellsTruths said:
This isn't about shame or reservation. I'm going to try and explain this calmly because you saying that is making me furious.

I'm not sure how it is in other 1st world countries, but it is a very sad fact that (even in 2014) in the USA you can have real repercussions if you are outed as an atheist or as a homosexual. You can lose your job. You can lose your family.

But in some other countries it is worse. It is actually illegal to be either of those things and you can lose your life.

No one is claiming that icerat would blackmail someone. What people are claiming is that the JREF did not give two ***** about the possibility.
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I think this is what happened to Slappy White.
 
I think they have just come out and said it. Several times.

Damn near everyone I've seen post in this thread has at some point admitted hope that the forums may survive and gratitude for it. But, that doesn't mean we can't be annoyed at the ham fisted way this has been handled from the outset.
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Take that a step further though. Sharon is the one who lobbied that the forum be saved. Maybe she lowered the lifeboats too quickly, and some heads were bumped. Maybe some lifeboats are more crowded than others... it wasn't a perfect process. She's not saying it was. But she is trying to make sure all the lifeboats are getting what they need now.

From her perspective, she's saved everyone and all they're doing is whining at her. It's not technically true, but that's how these things feel. I know, because I've been in nearly the exact same position.

Sharon has a tough skin and can handle the slings and barbs, but why not give her some room? You may have a point, but don't use it to puncture the side of the boat.
 
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Francesca R said:
What keeps coming back to me is:

Given that

1--There is at least the scintilla of possibility of legal liability to the JREF if it voluntarily transfers post content to a third party, arguably outside the authority of its non-exclusive licence which does not allow this

2--There is zero positive payoff to the JREF at all (we believe) in transferring the forum content, rather than--say--deleting it all

. . . Then there is no way I can make the cost/benefit part of "move the forum" come out as being superior from the JREF point of view to "burn it down".

At this stage I will therefore be rather surprised if the forum and all its content does not disappear
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I can't wait to see all the lawsuits filed by people with no money. :)
 
Jeff Wagg said:
So the JREF is changing gears, and the forum is not part of the their future plans. Whatever the reasons, that's their decision, and that's where we start.

They have two choices:

1) Turn off the forum. Thanks for all the fish, the highway must come through. It would take them minutes to do this, and then they could go on with their business.

2) Transition the forum to someone else. That involves the JREF staff having meetings, making difficult decisions, monitoring threads, worrying about unforeseen issues... in short, it's a pain in the (what's under MdC's hat).

Against much logic and personal self-interest, the JREF chose option 2. Not only did they do that, they offered to pay for the new server for six months.

Why would the JREF do this? To maintain their reputation? That seems unlikely... their reputation seems to be suffering though this process.

I can only conclude that the JREF, or at least a subset of what the JREF is, actually cares about the forum and the community that's been created.

It's an awkward and sometimes ugly process, but in a way, a lot of people are complaining about the quality of the caviar on the life boat.
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Exactly.
 
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